Residents of the Lokoja, the Kogi state capital, on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the area office of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
The protesters who were majorly traders and business owners lamented that they have been experiencing deliberate outages before the Christmas celebration till date, adding that the situation is crippling businesses in the state.
Irked by the persistent electricity outage in the state capital, the protesters converged at the main entrance of the electricity company. They expressed worry over the lackadaisical attitudes of the AEDC management over the plight of their customers in the state capital.
The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions such as: “We are tired of frequent outages, epileptic power supply in Lokoja and its environs”, “AEDC should give us light to boost our economic fortunes in the state.” stop the outrageous billings”.
The Chairman of a pressure group under the aegis of Light Up Movement, Mallam Ilyasu Zakari, who led the protest accused the electricity company of deliberate acts denying its customers of supply and collecting money for service not rendered.
He alleged further that the AEDC management has refused to explain why the continuous outage even though they were said to be selling out the allocation meant for Lokoja to neighbouring states and FCT.
“The allocation meant for Lokoja has not dropped all this while, yet we are suffering from an outage, let the management tell us who they are selling our allocation to and yet collect money for giving us darkness.”
The group who also demanded an end to outrageous billing by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in the state, further called for the immediate removal of the AEDC Regional Manager, Danladi Baba and the Area Manager, Emmanuel Ajibogun for alleged ineptitude.
“Failure to correct the abnormalities or complaints enumerated will leave us with no choice but to mobilize for the next phase of these demands. Enough of AEDC surcharging us and putting the movement in a bad light in the minds of the public while reneging on all agreements reached in previous engagements.”
One of the protesters, Inuwa Isa said electricity was not available always, even before the celebration of Christmas and New Year, as residents were always left in darkness.
Another Protester simply called Hon. Imam said “SHAME on AEDC. So insensitive and wicked. Couldn’t even allow a crossover to the New Year in bright light! It’s a bad omen and a signpost for inefficiency. Above all, they’ve called off our bluffs and taken us for granted.”
The Area Manager of AEDC in Lokoja, Emmanuel Ajibogun who attended to the angry residents commended the protesters for their peaceful conduct and promised to look into their grievances.
He disclosed that a round table discussion will be held with the leadership of the community as soon as possible.
The most affected are residents, iron fabricators, petty traders, restaurants and bars, and sachet water sellers who complained of poor sales.
